Quarterback quandry front and center as camp beckons

PHILADELPHIA – You are who your quarterback is in the bottom line NFL.

Or in the case of the Eagles, who your quarterbacks are not.

No one knows this better than Chip Kelly, who after an awkward offseason managing the position addresses it in earnest when the Eagles begin training camp this week at the NovaCare Complex.

The Eagles handed Kelly $32.5 million to change the culture. For the first time in 15 years the club enters camp without a clearcut starting quarterback as the front office neglected to give Kelly a franchise talent to build around unless you believe:

… The lumbering 6-6, 243-pound Nick Foles can get out of the way out of teammates when necessary and play faster than the guy who clocked a 5.03 in the 40-yard dash on a fast day.

… Rookie Matt Barkley demonstrates he’s completely healthy and has the arm strength of a first-round, not a fourth-round pick.

… Twenty-eight-year-old practice squad refugee Dennis Dixon is a late bloomer who emerges as another Kurt Warner rags-to-riches story.

Eagles players figure the starting job will go to Vick or Foles. Kelly hasn’t closed the door on a competition with more than two quarterbacks getting first-team snaps, something he did at Oregon.

“It just depends,” Kelly said. “Everywhere I’ve been it’s played itself out on the field. Does that mean it’s going to happen here? I don’t know. But I’ve never been in a situation where we’ve had to make a decision and it’s like 50-50 … pick it out of a hat. Somebody over the course of time has stepped up and has won the battle. That’s what you’re hoping to have happen again here. And hopefully it’s evident to everybody, like ‘There’s no question that it’s this guy because his game stepped up.’”

The quarterbacks aren’t the only players who need to step up. The talent at tight end is going to create compelling competition both for the tight ends and the wide receivers.

Kelly signed tight end James Casey in free agency and selected Zach Ertz early in the second round to team with veterans Brent Celek and Clay Harbor. Casey and Ertz both can split out as well as figure in at fullback in an offense where the Eagles are unlikely to use a conventional blocking fullback.

That may diminish the role of the wide receivers, including DeSean Jackson, who has migrated to another agent and could find himself carrying the football in specialty packages.

Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin is playing out his contract and the Eagles have serious decisions to make at the receiver position fortified with veterans Jason Avant, Riley Cooper and Arrelious Benn, the latter imported from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I’m excited,” Maclin said. “I think we can put a lot of different guys in different positions. And I think you’ll see a lot of guys make plays.”

Veteran running back LeSean McCoy anchors the ground game Kelly values, with Bryce Brown pushed by Felix Jones, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, and Chris Polk on the outside looking in.

“I’m looking for this year to have a successful year as an individual and also as a team,” McCoy said. “We have the right players to get the job done. And a nice coach. The sky is the limit. I think from this year on, it should make a difference.”

The offensive line appears healthy with Jason Peters back at left tackle, Todd Herremans at right guard and Jason Kelce at the pivot. The line boasts rookie first-round pick Lane Johnson at right tackle, and enough depth to concern guard Danny Watkins, formerly a first-round pick.

Almost anything goes on the other side of the ball as the Eagles attempt to transition from the 4-3 to the 3-4.

The secondary is almost entirely new with cornerbacks Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher, plus safeties Patrick Chung and Kenny Phillips joining Kurt Coleman and Nate Allen.

Connor Barwin might be the best player on the defense that likely will lean on the concepts Davis helped perfect with the Arizona Cardinals, including an all-out blitz at times.

The flip side is a chunk of players are caught in the transition. Trent Cole and Brandon Graham are getting, who have the skills sets of defensive ends, are getting looks at outside linebacker.

Difficult as it looks the NFL is a worst-to-first league.

“We went from a really bad defense to the second-best defense in the NFL in one year,” Barwin said of his recent stint with the Houston Texans. “And then we were really good again this past year. So that kind of excitement and changeup, I’ve been through that in Houston. And I kind of feel the same kind of excitement here in Philly. You can definitely feel the energy. Everybody is talking about the offense, which should be talked about because it’s exciting and it’s fun for me and us on defense to practice against. But we’re excited about the changes that we’re doing on defense, too.”

Kelly expects the quarterback competition to be settled in the heat of the preseason, the only time Eagles passers will be subjected to tackling. You don’t know what’s in the tea bag until you put it in hot water. Remember that one?

“It’s a different deal,” Kelly said. “But that’s what competition does and the unique thing about it is at least a preseason game is different than a controlled practice. We’re going to have to be judged off of that because we’re not tackling our quarterbacks in scrimmages, I can tell you that.”

The good news for the quarterbacks is they can count on a fair competition. So says Eagles defensive assistant Todd Lyght, who coached with Kelly at Oregon. Lyght knows how the NFL works, having had an All-Pro career at cornerback with the St. Louis Rams.

“At the end of the day Coach is going to put the best quarterback in,” Lyght said. “And we don’t know who that is. Nick’s been playing really well. Barkley has already flashed. He’s only been here a little bit and he’s flashed. Is he healthy? Yeah. Absolutely. Dennis has done a good job. At the end of the day the best players are going to play. It’s not about who makes the most money or which round you were drafted in. At the end of the day he’s going to field the best team of guys that can go out there and compete and give him a chance to win.”